Getting the Word Out

Publicizing my activities is something that often falls by the wayside. Here is an announcement I have emailed to my "art" lists--people who have indicated an interest in my art activities. I will also create a Facebook event. Not sure if my web guy will be able to get it up on the website announcements page. It seems long for that. I'm curious to see how many participants I get.

Artrageous Workshops—Calypso Moon Studio

To celebrate Artrageous in Oak Park, Calypso Moon Studio will offer two adult workshops, taught by artist and writer Sallie Wolf. Sallie creates panoramic watercolor and mixed media landscapes in her studio, Calypso Moon. She also works in collage and continues her on-going Moon Project, an ever-growing compilation of drawings, graphs, music, and installations based on daily observations of the moon and its movements. Sallie is the author of three children’s books, including The Robin Makes A Laughing Sound: A Birder’s Journal, which is illustrated with sketches scanned from her journals and sketchbooks. To learn more about Sallie’s art and writing, visit her website, www.sallie.com.

Basic Drawing and Introduction to Watercolor

Saturday, October 9, 9 am to noon. $45

Learn to draw, using a basic “vocabulary” of lines and shapes. Then experiment with watercolor, which is essentially a drawing medium. From small sketches and doodles to larger works based on observation or preliminary sketching, participants will explore ways to record the world around them and the dreams within them.

Bring whatever drawing and watercolor materials you may already have. Paper, brushes, paint, and drawing implements will be available to purchase or borrow for the class.
Paint and paper plate palette--$3
Fabriano Artistico Paper, 140 lb cold pressed--$1 per quarter sheet


Making, Keeping, and Using an Artist’s Sketchbook-Journal

Saturday, October 9, 1:30-3:00 pm. $45 (price includes an autographed copy of Sallie Wolf’s book, The Robin Makes A Laughing Sound: A Birder’s Journal, which grew directly out of her sketchbook-journal practice.)

Participants will create a simple 32 page, 3-hole pamphlet-stitch journal, and explore different ways of keeping a sketchbook-journal and different materials to use. All materials are be included in the cost of the workshop.


Calypso Moon Studio will be open for the Studio Walk, Saturday, Oct 9, from 2-7 pm.




Basic Drawing and Introduction to Watercolor

Saturday, Oct. 9, 2010, 9 am – noon
Calypso Moon Studio
331 B Harrison St.
Oak Park, IL 60304

708-860-2072

Name___________________________________

Email___________________________________

Telephone______________________________

$45—check made out to Sallie Wolf______



Journal Making, Keeping, and Using an Artist’s Sketchbook-Journal

Saturday, Oct. 9, 2010, 1:30 – 3:00 pm
Calypso Moon Studio
331 B Harrison St.
Oak Park, IL 60304

708-860-2072

Name___________________________________

Email____________________________________

Telephone_______________________________

$35—check made out to Sallie Wolf_______



To register by email, contact Sallie Wolf at salwolf@comcast.net

(I will be unable to answer my phone between Aug. 31 and Sept. 11. After Sept. 11, call Sallie Wolf at 708-860-2072 with questions about the workshops.)


I’d love to have you in one of my workshops!

Sallie
--
Sallie Wolf
http://www.salliewolf.com

THE ROBIN MAKES A LAUGHING SOUND, a birder's journal, Charlesbridge, Spring 2010
TRUCK STUCK, Charlesbridge, 2008
PETER'S TRUCKS, Albert Whitman, 1992


Does this make you want to sign up? Any suggestions for creating future announcements?

A little help from my friends redux

Here I am, showing the journal with the original watercolor and the page from The Robin Makes A Laughing Sound: A Birder's Journal where the image was included. (Thank you Patricia J. Murphy for taking photos during my workshop.)

It is really fun to share my book and the journals that inspired it with budding writers and artists. Yesterday I presented a journal-making workshop for school-aged children at the Book Stall at Chestnut Court, in Winnetka, IL. The Book Stall is one of the premiere independent bookstores in the Chicago area and I was thrilled to be a part of their exciting calendar of events. We had great turnout--about as many kids as I could handle in one workshop. And they were great kids. We bound 32 page journals using wallpaper for covers and raffia for the 3-hold pamphlet stitch binding.

Then we talked about what to do in a journal. The very first thing, I said, is put your name in it. I lost a journal once and I still am in mourning for it.

Another suggestion I had is to begin each entry in the same way. For instance, I begin each of my journal entries by writing out, by hand, the day, date, place, time, and weather--"Saturday, July 10, 2010, Oak Park, c. 7:25 am, another gorgeous summer day." My pen is moving, I've written almost two lines, and I haven't had to think yet. Then, I told them, I usually write about what I did the day before, what I intend to do today, what I'm reading, what I'm working on or thinking about. Ideas for a new book. Anything that comes to mind.

I also like to draw in my journals. We talked about how to draw anything using a very basic "vocabulary" of straight and curved lines, geometric shapes, and letter shapes. As I demonstrated this drawing vocabulary, the children practiced in their journals. We tried drawing cubes three different ways--one way that I suggested and two that came from the kids.

These journals are also great places to glue in scrapbook items--ticket stubs, cards, photos, decorative papers and wrappers. My own journals are filled with writing, drawing, and collage.

And lastly we learned to draw birds three different ways. By the end of the workshop the kids had a good start on working in their journals.

The cost of the workshop was the price of one book. I felt like a real star with a line of 10 or 12 kids waiting for me to autograph their books. And the name tags that the children were wearing helped me to spell their names and be able to address them by name. The ages of the children ranged from going into first grade up to going into fifth grade--perfect for this workshop.

Bev Patt stopped by to wish me luck. Robert McDonald, who coordinated the event for the Book Stall and another Book Stall staffer provided helping hands for guiding the children through the steps of folding papers, punching holes, and stitching the binding. And Debbie Topolski, who is a fellow SCBWI-Illinois member and great friend, provided invaluable support and assistance, as driver, as assistant in setup and take down, and as sidekick and backup. Patricia J. Murphy has a blog entry about how SCBWI members can help each other. This workshop was a great example of that support.

Natalie Rompella & Good Blogging Advice

Back in February, Natalie Rompella, an SCBWI-IL member (and new mother) shared some good advice about how we SCBWI-IL members can support each other's blogs. She had four suggestions:

• 1. Post others' blog addresses on your blog. Kind of if you love my blog, you'll also love her blog.
• 2. Click the follow button on others' blogs (not your own as I all of a sudden became a follower of my own blog!)
• 3. Commenting on others' blogs. There's nothing worse than pouring your heart out into your blog and finding that no one seems to be reading it. :)
• 4. Letting people in other facets of your life know about blogs you think they'd enjoy.

She also had these suggestions about how to spread the word about your own blogs:

• send a link to your friends through your regular email or through your blog inviting them to view
• share the link on Facebook
• share the link on Twitter

Here are Natalie Rompella's blogs and website:

• www.natalierompella.blogspot.com
• www.natalierompella.com
• www.mamaandbabybear.blogspot.com

I have been hoarding her posting on the SCBWI-IL list serve until I had a chance to put it to use. Now I can clear one more email from my over-full, but shrinking in-box.

The Farther I Go the Further Behind I Am

I have been spreading the news about The Robin Makes A Laughing Sound: A Birder's Journal, teaching school workshops, speaking to fellow illustrators and writers about the picture book process, and lining up book store appearances, especially with my travels in mind. Pretty much doing the same things I did to promote Truck Stuck.

On April 1 I will hang a show of the original sketches which were scanned and then collaged into the pages using Photoshop. I could not have done this by myself. Micah Bornstein provided the expertise and design skills that made the pages so clean and clear. And the whole production was very collaborative between Micah and myself, with lots of input and editorial help from my great editor at Charlesbridge, Yolanda, and the wonderful art director there, Susan. I am still amazed when I look at our first sample pages and my first selection of poems that we were able to move from that raw state to this finished book, one that I am proud to have my name on.

Charlesbridge has created a page on it's website just for the Robin book (I think there is one for all their books) and it has some really neat, special features. They have listed lots of reviews, both print ones and on-line ones. There is a really great Discussion and Activity Guide that can be downloaded, and also 8 Flashcards of bird images that can be printed from the site. I made some of the guide and Donna and Lili in the promotions department pushed it into final form. Just another reason Charlesbridge is a great company to work with.

The launch party at the Magic Tree Bookstore was a great success. I'm sorry if you didn't get a bite of the cake--it was amazing--tasted as good as it looked.

So now it is on to new projects while working to promote this book. Does anyone out there have a publicist? Do you think it pays to have one? I feel as if I'm doing as much as I can and it's not nearly as much as needs doing.

PS--I have a blog post on the Charlesbridge site where I discuss how my poetry develops from initial idea to final, published form. I hope this discussion will encourage young writers to re-vision their writing, not just substitute one word for another and call it revised.

Starting Over

Monday, February 1, 2010 is the official release date of The Robin Makes A Laughing Sound: A Birder's Journal. I feel as if I am starting over, relearning this publicity thing. And so much has changed in the two years since Truck Stuck came out. Who knew I ought to be creating a book trailer for U-Tube? I thought only YA and maybe some middle-grade novels should have one, but here are two great trailers for children's picture books: Duck! Rabbit! and Nanook and Pryce.

What I have done so far is visit several other blogs--there is Scotti Cohn's blog interview, mentioned in my last post. And I am a guest contributor on Playing by the Book, a blog that gives lists of picture book fiction by subject matter. I chose Art as my subject and found a number of great picture books whose stories revolve around the topic of art. My Playing by the Book post should be available on February 1, but go ahead and check out the great combination of book lists and child-friendly activities that make up Playing by the Book.

Visiting other Blogs

Here is a new experience for me. Scotti Cohn invited me to be interviewed for her blog, It happened in Chicago. Check it out!